Mr. Speaker, here we are in April 2001 and women still have to protest for something as basic as pay equity.
That is what Bell operators had to do today. Ten years they have been at it, ten years of fighting for justice and ten years of trying to resolve a pay equity dispute with Bell Canada.
It has been a decade since Bell Canada has been creating obstacles to avoid paying Bell Canada operators what they are owed. Most of them are women and many are single mothers.
Now the company's actions have frustrated the whole human rights process, effectively derailing hundreds of efforts to seek redress for discrimination.
Do the stalling tactics of Bell Canada sound familiar? They should. They have been the practice, the habit and the pattern of operation of the Liberal Government of Canada. It has done a great disservice to the women of the country.
The concept is simple. It is about equal pay for work of equal value. Let us get on with the job at hand. Let us see some leadership from the government.